Thicker than Water
by Arie Annette
Summary: Zuko, Aang, General Iroh and Katara make a pilgrimage to the South Pole to try and mend broken bonds, while back home, Sokka and Suki deal with the idea of married life, and the threat of the remarkably fascinating former princess Azula.
1. Prologue: Desperado

**Thicker than Water**

By Arie Annette

Summary: Still feeling guilty and desperate to be absolved, Fire Lord Zuko invites his uncle Iroh on what is meant to be a sort of spiritual retreat. When Sokka and Katara offer to escort them to the South Pole, everyone learns the difference between forgiving and forgetting, and between loyalty and love. Multiple pairings, but focuses on family.

**Prologue : Desperado**

Aang knew before he even opened his eyes that he wasn't alone. Someone had silently opened the door to his guest room in the palace of the Fire Lord, and was now looming over his bed, no doubt waiting to make sure that the coast was clear before he or she struck. Swallowing a surge of terror, Aang braced himself, screwed up his courage, and opened his eyes, ready to spring from the bed, uproot the intruder, and make a break for the hall.

Fire Lord Zuko, dressed in blood-red, embroidered pajamas which were too large for him, waved at Aang. "Uh, hi. Sorry to wake you. I needed to ask-!"

"Ugh." Aang relaxed against the bed with an exasperated grunt. "You nearly scared the air out of me. You should say something when you come in like that, maybe something like "Hi, I'm not here to kill you, so don't throw me across the room."

Zuko blinked at him. "You were gonna throw me across the room?"

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Aang sat up to give the Fire Lord his full attention. "Uh…yeah. Probably."

"Okay. Well, I'll remember that next time." Zuko took a deep breath. "Let's start over. Hi, it's me, Fire Lord Zuko.I'm not here to kill you, so please don't throw me across the room. How'd you sleep?"

"Great," replied Aang, "I-!"

"Glad to hear it," interrupted Zuko. "So, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Can we go to Ba Sing Se?"

Aang took a look out the window. It was still very dark out, and was probably still only a couple of hours after midnight. "Now?" he asked.

"Yeah." Zuko was trying not to look apologetic.

Aang looked at him for a couple of minutes before asking, "is there some kind of emergency? Someone in trouble?"

Shaking his head, Zuko muttered, "no…I just want to see my uncle."

Aang sat and waited for him to go on, but Zuko said nothing. Finally, Aang asked "you wanna talk about it?"

"No," grumbled Zuko.

"Okay," continued Aang, "but if you want me to get out of this nice soft bed and take you flying all the way to the Earth Kingdom at this hour, you probably oughta tell me just what's going on. That'd be the polite thing to do."

Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"And if you don't, I probably won't want to take you," Aang finished.

Zuko sighed.

"I guess I want to surprise him," he began, reaching behind him to close the open door of the guest room. "If I wait until morning, and everyone knows that I'm leaving, I'll have to take three of the palace guard, and probably a couple of the royal firebenders, and maybe even Mai. You know how she hates it when I go off by myself. I just…want to see him by myself for a little while, without all the fanfare."

Aang shrugged. "Sounds good to me," he said. "But, how come you look so down about it? Whenever you mention your uncle, your mouth gets all tight, and you look like you're trying to just get it over with. I thought you really liked General Iroh. So what's so awful about going to see him?"

Zuko didn't say anything, but instead spent a few moments staring out the window and avoiding Aang's eyes.

"Well…okay." Aang shrugged, and let it go. "I'll take you, but before we go, you should leave a message for Mai. I do know how she hates it when you go off by yourself."

Zuko nodded, and went off in search of a piece of paper.


	2. Proposal

**Chapter One: Proposal**

Aang landed Appa as quietly has he could, a few blocks away from former General Iroh's Jasmine Dragon tea shop. Leaving the avatar to tend to his mount, Zuko pushed open the door.

Iroh was sitting at a table by the door, sipping placidly away at a cup of steaming tea. Surprised to find his uncle already awake, Zuko started, and raised an eyebrow.

"I saw the sky bison landing outside my window," Iroh explained. "It's hard to miss him."

"Oh." Zuko shot a glance out the still-open door at Appa, who had rolled over on to his back and sprawled out on the pavement. "Yes, I suppose he is a bit…conspicuous. My apologies."

Getting to his feet, Iroh bowed, and murmured, "No apologies are necessary. Your visit is a great honor, Fire Lord Zuko. It is also an honor to see that your wearing my pajamas. You may have to grow into them, but it's a good look for you."

"These are yours?" Zuko held out one arm and watched the extra folds of fabric fall down over his outstretched hand. "I guess that explains the fit." Shaking his sleeve back, Zuko tried to come back around to the reason for his visit. "Uncle, I've come to make a request."

"Ask anything, Fire Lord. I am delighted to be of help to you."

"No…it's not a formal request. I want to ask you something as your nephew."

A slight smile creased the old man's face, and he made another short bow. "In that case," he said, "I am doubly pleased. First, however, I have a request for you."

"Name it," replied Zuko.

"I would ask," continued Iroh, "that you invite your friend in to have a cup of tea. There is no reason for him to wait outside for people to stare at, and I think it is going to rain tonight. We can have a nice friendly cup inside, and you can tell me what brings you all the way here at such an admittedly unreasonable hour." After a moment's pause, he added, "but the bison, I think, needs to stay out there. There are a lot of very delicate items in this shop, and I would hate to lose the beautiful new teapot that I received as a gift from the Earth King."

Zuko followed Iroh's gaze to an exquisite jade teapot, carefully engraved with the image of an exultant dragon. "You make friends wherever you go, uncle," he murmured, shaking his head in bemusement. "No matter what your past transgressions have been, you always manage to win the love of the people. That's why I need your help, you see, I want to-!"

"First," interrupted Iroh, "go get your friend. Then we'll talk."

When Aang, Zuko, and Iroh were all sitting comfortably around the table, Iroh turned and nodded at his nephew. "Now," he said, "what can I do for you?"

Zuko swallowed a mouthful of scalding tea, and tried not to wince as he felt it burn his tongue. "I'd like to make a pilgrimage," he said, "to the southern water tribe, and then to the northern water tribe, to tender a personal apology to the people living there, whom the fire nation has wronged."

Iroh nodded, looking thoughtful. "A very noble gesture," he murmured, "but you should be aware, Zuko, that no apology, even from the Fire Lord himself, will ever bring back the years, or the men and women whom those tribes have lost to the war."

"I know that, uncle," insisted Zuko, "but-!"

"But," Aang cut in, "a personal apology from the Fire Lord will really begin to cement the idea in people's minds that change is coming. Right now, the world is still full of such distrust…and I think it would be great if we could get one step closer to ending that."

"I know," Zuko added, "that there is a lot of lingering hatred in the world, particularly among the people of the water tribes. I need them to understand that when I say peace, I mean it. If my going there gives them a target for their hatred, that's fine, so long as they begin to realize that communication between our people might really be an option, someday."

Iroh nodded. "It is a beautiful thought, worthy of my nephew, and of the beginning of a new era. I am impressed. What do you want me to do?"

"I want," said Zuko, "for you to come with me." There was just a hint of pleading in his voice, the same note that his voice had contained long ago when, as a child, he'd petulantly begged his uncle not to take Azula's side in a game or quarrel. Iroh found himself inexplicably choked up for a moment, and he cleared his throat noisily as Zuko continued. "I will need your wisdom, and your appeal to the people. I'll also," he added in a lower, more abashed voice, "probably need some moral support."

Iroh shrugged. "How could I ever say no? It is a delightful idea. Count me in. After all, I miss traveling, and adventure. Perhaps the leaders of the water tribes and I could exchange recipes."

Zuko heaved a sigh of delighted relief, and Aang looked really pleased. "Thank you, uncle," said Zuko, "it'll be a really worthwhile experience, I promise."

"Although," remarked Iroh, "we'll still have to find someone to look after my tea shop. Business has been booming around here ever since the fire nation navy stopped trying to kill everyone."


	3. Prenuptial

**Chapter Two : Prenuptial**

The next morning just after dawn, Aang, Zuko, Iroh and Appa left Ba Sing Se for the island of Kyoshi.

Aang was having more than a little bit of trouble controlling his enthusiasm. "Suki and the Kyoshi warriors are gonna be so happy to se us," he was saying, as the flying bison approached the island's shores. "Katara and Sokka, too." Zuko noticed that when Aang mentioned Katara, his cheeks turned ever-so-slightly pinker. "I haevn't seen them since they left for the betrothal ceremony a week ago, and it's pretty weird. I guess when you spend so much time with someone, after a while you forget what it's like not to be with them."

"Betrothal ceremony?" Iroh raised an interested eyebrow. "That young waterbender girl is getting married?"

Aang turned even more red, and shook his head violently. "No, of course not, that's ridiculous. Katara's not getting married, Sokka and Suki are. I wanted to come and wish them well, but apparently the last few days before the wedding are supposed to be…uh, well, private."

Iroh and Zuko exchanged a knowing glance, and Zuko made a disgusted face. "Oh, sure, the young couple needs some alone time to get to know each other," murmured Iroh.

Aang looked puzzled. "They won a world-wide war together after Sokka rescued Suki from a fire nation prison. I guess they know each other pretty well already, right?"

Laughing, Iroh put a hand on Aang's shoulder and shook his head. "Not well enough for marriage, young avatar. One might argue that you can never know a woman well enough to really be sure what you're getting into."

Zuko chose not to get involved in this particularly awkward conversation. Instead, he kept an eye out for the first glimpse of Kyoshi island, where his former friend and enemy, Ty Lee, was now living as an honorary Kyoshi warrior. He had mixed feelings about seeing her again, especially since she and Mai hadn't spoken since they'd parted ways in prison. Apparently when Mai's uncle had pulled strings to free her, Mai hadn't chosen to speak up for Ty Lee, and that gesture had driven a rift between the two women which made recent encounters more than a little uncomfortable.

The Kyoshi warriors were, as expected, waiting for them when Appa landed on the beach. Katara, flushed and looking delighted, was there among them, ready to throw herself into first Zuko's arms, then into Aang's with a wealth of welcome in her eyes. To former General Iroh, she gave a formal but friendly bow, which he returned with a twinkle in his eye.

"I'm so happy you're here," she told Aang, while escorting them up the beach towards the village. "I got your messenger hawk only a few minutes ago, and I barely made it in time! It's been so boring here without you!"

"It's been pretty boring at home, too," muttered Zuko, remembering the grueling hours he'd spent recently trying to re-organize the fire nation army into the peace-keeping force it had once been meant to be. Supervising training and re-structuring policy may have interested his power-hungry father, but was a real tax on Zuko's patience.

Katara made a sympathetic grimace. "I'll bet," she agreed, patting Zuko on the arm. "Still, at least you're accomplishing something. All I've been doing is listening to the soon-to-be-newlyweds fight about everything from guest lists to rock décor. Sokka spends most of his time brooding and looking downtrodden, and Suki's been taking her warrior training to heart – she's a real order-giver. If this is what marriage is supposed to be like, then no wonder Gran-Gran took off!"

"I'm sure it's not all that bad," muttered Aang, staring fixedly at the sand. "Where is Sokka, anyway? I wanted to say hi."

When Aang left to go track down Sokka and Suki, Zuko pulled Katara aside. Together, she, Iroh, and Zuko sat down on the beach and let the waves wash over their ankles while Zuko explained his predicament. Katara listened for several minutes to the Fire Lord's description of the pilgrimage he wanted to make, and her eyes lit up when he mentioned making a personal apology to the people of her tribe.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," she told him. "It'll really mean something to people like Gran Gran, who have heard all about the way the world is changing, but who haven't had a chance to see any of it for themselves. I'd love to go with you, if you'd like an escort. That way I could introduce you to the tribe elders."

"That's great." Zuko smiled. "I really appreciate that, Katara. Aang will be with us as well, to um…make sure that we get our message across."

"We should bring Sokka. You know, for crowd control, and comic relief." Katara gestured at the village. "He could probably use a break from all of this pre-wedding stuff anyway, and I know he'd be thrilled to see dad and Bato again."

"Actually…" Zuko bit his lip. "I was hoping Sokka would be willing to do something else for me, while we're all away at the South Pole. See, there's nobody really managing the fire nation palace right now, and having an empty royal chamber doesn't look so good, only a few weeks after my father's overthrow. I was thinking, maybe Sokka and Suki wouldn't mind sitting in for me. After all, the people know them, they're war heroes."

"And besides," interjected Iroh, "it would be a wonderful opportunity for the young couple to practice living together."

"Sokka running the fire nation…" Katara frowned. "That, I'll admit, is a pretty scary thought…but I'll ask him. Maybe you're right, General Iroh. Getting away from the pressure around here might be good for the two of them. I know it'll be good for me."


End file.
